Dirty Little Notions: How did you get started in the business?
Kelly Weber: I started by interning at FORD LA. Later, I was in Chicago visiting friends and decided I wanted to stop into our FORD Chicago office to meet the staff working. I walked in and was offered a job a week later. I moved to Chicago right away and started my new career in the Women's Division of FORD Chicago. I guess there was something they liked about me.
Shannon Lang: She was so cute and spunky.
Beth Maguire: I attended Depaul University and snagged an internship at FORD Chicago using the resources at my school. After three months of interning, I asked for an extension. Eventually a position opened in the Men's Division.
SL: I was working as a graphic artist at an Advertising company. Most of my job consisted of hiring models for the advertisements. I realized I could do this as a living and ended up working at a modeling school. I was scouted by a modeling agent and began working as a modeling agent myself.
DLN: What are the most common misconceptions about the modeling agency?
SL: People think models are stupid. We represent models that are very intelligent. They run their own business. They are entrepreneurs. We have models in junior high, high school, college, med school. They have to have some sort of intelligence. They are managing extremely hectic schedules and need to have amazing organizational skills.
BM: On our end, people look at agents as people who want models to quit school. We don't. We want our models to gain education and passions.
SL: You need to have other passions.
DLN: What are the biggest mistakes that agencies make in representing their talent?
KW: Whenever we do sign talent. It is always a mutually beneficial relationship. We want them to be able to grow, build relationships and experience. We want everyone to benefit.
SL: FORD was the first modeling agency founded. We don’t make mistakes because we have the experience.
DLN: What are you looking for in a model today? How have the requirements evolved over the years?
SL: FORD Chicago has a varienty of divisions. We can find a model that can work for any certain division. The most common division is Fresh Faces (Size 2-4, 15-18 years old, 5’9 or more in height), but we also have different divisions such as Classic Women (women in their 50s) and our amazing Plus Size division (Size 10-14, 5'10 or more in height) While there are many different divisions, all FORD models must meet certain requirements. You must have a fit, healthy body, great hair, great skin a great smile and a great personality. You can be classically beautiful or somewhat more edgy.
BM: Personality is big. Have a great smile, be respectful and have great work ethic. In the Men Division, it has started to evolve into us seeking the 'older, rugged man'.
SL: Our clients are also requesting ethnics.
KW: The demographic of the United States is changing. Everyone is different races and therefore, the client is trying to market to different races.
BM: Our generation is growing. Anything is beautiful. Everything has changed and now we can accept anything as beautiful and not just the typical blond-hair-blue-eyed doe.
DLN: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received and how have you applied it to your own life?
BM: I have learned to communicate better and see the other side of things, take the time to sit and think about issues and understand all sides of them.
KW: To realize I am never done learning something. I am learn from new experiences every day. Every day is so different so I am never done learning.
SL: We are never bored from work. I have learned to calm down. It’s only modeling in the end. We are very lucky to do what we do and we shouldn’t take ourselves so seriously. We are working for a very serious business but you have to make it fun.
BM: Surround yourself with good people. Stick up for each other. At FORD Chicago, we are a great team because we all have incredibly different experiences and can learn from one another.
SL: It is reciprocal. From the younger people in the business you learn a lot too. This younger team is driving our tumblr and twitter: our social media, which we normally wouldn't understand. As a young person trying to get into this business, it can be a little intimidating, but we all respect each other and learn from each other.
DLN: How have you seen fashion evolve through the modeling industry?
SL: Everything is neon now. It makes me want to throw up because I did the 'neon' phase in junior high. There is nothing really new in fashion. It is all cyclical.
KW: Keep the jean jacket as much as you don't want to. You will re-use it later.
SL: Back in the day, if you didn't have a specific designer brand label, you weren't considered cool. Now you can mix thrift, vintage, high end, low end clothing and still find your personality and who you are. It is about mixing.
BM: Hair is getting longer and grundge is coming back. The clean shaven look is fading and the 5 o'clock shadow is emerging. Recently, I see guys coming into casting calls with simple v-necks, nice jeans and cute kicks. I like that is is changing and not as clean cut.
SL: The standard of beauty is changing also. Now, we don't represent all models from a typical standard of beauty. Now, we have models who are different, unique, edgy or quirky.
DLN: Is there a different look for FORD Chicago versus other FORD?
SL: Chicago is more commercial and more catalog. We usually look for someone who can do catalog. We have models who live in Chicago and solely do catalog work.
BM: At FORD Chicago, we value smiles and movement. It is easy to look at someone and not smile. You need to be able to move and smile.
DLN: What is the most rewarding part of being modeling agents?
KW: Seeing the babies grow.
SL: When I sign a girl, especially when another agency is interested. When they get that first job they are so happy and so excited, THAT is when it is the most rewarding. When you watch a young girl grow up to a beautiful woman with a life of their own and a family, THAT is amazing.
BM: Guys are more held back and reserved about modeling. When they finally get to the point where they are proud of themselves, it is rewarding.
KW: The fact that I have done a small part to help someones dreams come true. We watch them grow up. We are a part of their lives and we have a relationship with a client.
SL: When they get booked for something major we are all jumping up and down like crazy people.
BM: One of our models once was selling a pineapple shirt in an advertisement. No one thought it would work, but the next day, the shirt was sold out. That is the power a model can bring to a client.
DLN: What is the hardest part about being a modeling agent?
SL: Dealing with models' school schedules, parents, clients and some personalities can be challenging. Dealing with personalities can be tough because you have to make sure that everyone is as happy as possible.
KW: At FORD Chicago, we have models of all ages. Being a friend and mentor, but also being an agent at the same time can be challenging. I want to be friends with them, but I do need to be harsh sometimes. Being younger than someone you manage is hard. You need the confidence to be able to give them feedback and gain the respect you deserve.
SL: If a girl trusts you, they will understand your management style. Be confident in what you do.
BM: In the beginning I didn’t feel like I knew enough. You start to learn what you should be watching out for.
SL: When you start out as a junior agent you are booking smaller gigs. As you get more experience, you are booking bigger things and growing as a manager.
KW: Once you start having bigger jobs. They notice.
SL: What is so great about FORD Chicago is we are a little family. We hang out with each other and love each other.
KW: Models want to come back. They like the environment.
SL: We treat them with respect. Sometimes, agencies lose the personal aspect of the management process. You can’t treat them as a commodity. That is why people stay with FORD.
KW: When models have passions on the side, we support that. When they get married, we are at the weddings. It is a part of our job to know these models.
DLN: Are people ever angry that you don’t accept them?
KW: There is a lot of confusion, sadness and anger.
SL: When people come in to open call, we treat everyone with respect. We don’t say yes to everyone. We are very selective, but we aren't going to hurt you.
KW: Sometimes the look might not be good for us, but it might be for other people.
DLN: What is one of the craziest experience you have had working at FORD?
SL: We had a guy that came in for open call once. He was wearing some male clothes and some female clothes and had makeup smeared all across his face. He had eye shadow painted up his cheeks. We treated him with respect, but politely told him we were looking for something else. He wouldn't leave and got very defensive. We had to call another agent to come and physically escort him out. As he was dragged out of the door he shouted at the top of his lungs "I CURSE YOU IN THE NAME OF COCO CHANEL!!" while pointing at us with his sharp painted nails. That was probably one of my most extreme experiences at FORD Chicago.
KW: One of my craziest experiences at FORD was going to New York Fashion Week to work behind the scenes with the models and run them around to all of the shows. I saw so many famous people. It was incredibly surreal. Once, when I was at NYFW, I was called to escort a couple models to Paris the next day for a 'quick' meeting with Balenciaga. My passport was shipped to me and as soon as it arrived in the mail, I was on a plane to Paris. I was sitting there with two sixteen year old models on a plane to Paris for a meeting with Balenciaga. We were probably in Paris for six hours before I was on the flight back home. It was insane.
DLN: What would you say to those looking to break into the agency?
SL: If you are trying to break into the modeling industry, do your research. There are amazing websites that are fantastic resources for models. Look on Models.Com to see the top models in the industry, top agencies and top photographers, makeup artists and agents. Know what to expect at an open call. Know what to wear. Have a thick skin and be ready for rejection. The modeling industry is a very small, revolving door. It is hard to get in and hard to stay in.
BM: Need to keep an open mind. Trust your agents. We know the risks so you have to trust us.
KW: Take any opportunity that comes your way. You never know where that will lead. I started as an intern who was not really interested in the industry. A couple years down the line, I am booking girls on HUGE jobs. You don’t know what it is like until you are there.
BM: I learned from the bare minimum. I never said no. You have to work from the bottom up.
It was incredibly fascinating to sit down and speak with these three wonderful women. There is a lot more that goes into being a modeling agent than you would expect. It really opens your eyes to just how hard everyone works in the fashion industry. Modeling is as much as a business as any large corporation or franchise, people just tend to ignore the fact. From photographers, models and makeup artists to account executives and modeling agents: cheers to those working hard to provide the inspiring advertisements we encounter every single day.
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It was great to meet you guys. I hope you enjoyed the tour of
University of Illinois' campus. Plan to keep in touch in the future!
Thanks for the post! I interviewed for an internship at FORD Chicago once and am now sad that it didn't work out in the end.
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